A Tale Of Two Pharaohs
Until 2022, an Egyptian Pharaoh's tomb had not been discovered in 100 years—when famous archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun. But that all changed when British archaeologist Piers Litherland discovered the tomb of Thutmose II hiding in plain sight. Now, Litherland believes that he may have found a second tomb nearby. Let's tell the tale of two Pharaohs and what could be the most monumental discovery in Egyptology in years.
The Initial Discovery
In 2022, prominent British archaeologist Piers Litherland led a joint British-Egyptian team to the Valley of the Kings to conduct an archaeological dig, looking for new evidence of pharaohs that may have been long buried beneath the sands of time.
First Pharaoh's Tomb Found in Egypt in 100 Years, Firstpost
The Initial Discovery (Cont'd)
As Piers and his team excavated and carefully dug near the western wadis near the Valley of the Kings, they discovered an ancient staircase leading down into the tomb. However, flood debris made it almost impossible to access and begin digging further.
I, Nikater, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Clearing The Debris
One of the most important principles of archaeological digging is to be as careful as possible not to destroy any artifacts or disturb the dig site more than necessary. They couldn't just call in heavy machinery and dig with a bucket. Each piece of flood debris had to be painstakingly cleared from the tomb's entryway, a process that took months.
The Process Of Removal
When working on archaeological digs such as this, crews work in a chainê operatoire, essentially a production line of excavation. “Our top digger, Heraji Said Mohamed, is nicknamed ‘father of the brush’, because he says a trowel is too rough," said Deputy Director Judith Bunbury, a Junior Tutor at Wolfson College, Cambridge.
A Whole Sacrificed Calf
One of the deposits of the foundation of the tomb was removed and the team uncovered a whole sacrificed calf, which seemed incredibly lavish and could only have meant that the team was dealing with a very important person.
Painstaking Work
"It's nerve-wracking stuff. The team are down in the darkness and dust, carefully scraping all the debris into buckets by the light of solar-charged LEDs. Definitely not ideal conditions for spotting fragments of ancient artefacts," says Judith Bunbury, detailing the painstaking work and conditions that members of the archaeology team are working on.
Layers Of Limestone
What made the dig challenging was removing the slabs of limestone plaster in sheets that "were about the size of a dining room table". A combination of limestone flakes called tufa, mud plaster, and ash on top indicated that Litherland was onto something. Additionally, "the remains of drinking cups and chisel ends" were located in the sheets of limestone plaster, confirming that the tombs were manmade.
Discovering The Tomb
Once cleared of debris, the tomb could be explored further. To Litherland, the intricate paintings of blue and yellow stars on the ceiling stood out—a sure sign that this was a royal burial site. Upon seeing this, Litherland knew the importance of his discovery: It was the first royal burial chamber uncovered since Tutankahmun's in 1922.
EditorfromMars, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
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The Amduat: Texts For A Monarch
The blue and yellow markings on the tomb's roof were from the Amduat, an ancient text whose title translates to "That Which Is In The Afterworld". There are other funerary texts from ancient Egypt, but the Amduat was reserved onIy for kings. It tells the story of the Egyptian sun god, Ra.
Finding The Mummy Of Thutmose II
It's long been believed that Thutmose II's mummified body was discovered in the 19th century at the Royal Cache in Deir el-Bahari Cachette. However, Litherland now believes that the mummy believed to be Thutmose II may not be at all. This isn't the first time Egyptologists have been wrong.
Keith Hazell, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Why Not Thutmose?
According to Litherland, speaking with The Art Newspaper, Thutmose II may "have been mislabeled, which is not uncommon in archaeology throughout history. He explains that "Thutmose II" was labeled "Aa-en-re" because Thutmose II's regnal title was "Aa-kheper-en-re," and Thutmose was the only pharaoh with an "en" in his regnal name. He explains that the evidence is shaky at best, particularly given this discovery.
Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
No Regal Objects Found With Thutmose's Body
Litherland notes that no regal objects have been found associated with the "Thutmose" mummy found at Deir el-Bahari. Egyptian pharaohs were always buried with high-value funerary items, such as masks, jewelry, amulets, statues of servants, weapons, and so on. However, no such items were found with Thutmose's body in the 19th century.
Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons
What Do We Know About Thutmose II?
Unfortunately, archaeologists and researchers know little about Thutmose II. He ruled Egypt during the 18th dynasty from about 1493 to 1479 BC, when he is thought to have died at the age of 30.
Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
King Tut's Ancestor And First Cousin Of Hatshepsut
Although we know little about Thutmose II, we know that he was an ancestor of King Tutankhamun and the husband of Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut was the Pharaoh of Egypt from 1479 to 1458 BC, only the second woman to rule Egypt independently.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wikimedia Commons
Thutmose II Crushed A Nubian Rebellion
Not everyone liked being ruled by the Egyptians. During Thutmose's time, a Nubian rebellion sprang up, after the people had been completely subjugated by Thutmose I. Due to his relative youth at the time (and probably cowardice), Thutmose II dispatched the Egyptian army to crush the Nubian rebellion, which it did successfully.
Karen Green, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
An Empty Tomb
As the debris was removed, aside from the indicators that this was a royal burial site (the Amduat on the ceiling), the tomb was empty. Instead of a crushed sarcophagus that Litherland expected to find, what they found were shards of pottery—the only indicators of whom the tomb belonged to.
Pottery Located
Returning to the discovery of Thutmose II's tomb, pottery was located by Litherland and Co. and examined by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities, who finalII'snalyzed the shards of pottery in the 2024-25 archaeological season. They discovered that the pottery was inscribed with Thutmose II's name and that of his wife and half-sister, Hatshepsut.
Empty, But Not Anonymous
As mentioned above, the tomb contained texts from the Amduat and pottery depicting Thutmose II and Hatshepsut. It was also very large, 95 feet long, and had a burial chamber measuring 17' x 17' x 11'.
Built By Ineni?
The archaeologists speculate that this tomb was built by an 18th Dynasty architect named Ineni, a builder of pharaoh tombs. Famously, he built the dynasty tombs for pharaohs by concealing them under waterfalls to preserve them and hide them from tomb robbers.
Museo Egizio, Wikimedia Commons
Text From Ineni's Biography May Confirm The Resting Place
In his biography, Ineni wrote that he had "excavated the high tomb of His Majesty, no one seeing, no one hearing," but he faced a "very serious problem" after the first tomb he'd built flooded. It's speculated that Ineni built this tomb with layers of mud plaster on the outside to protect it from flooding and not upset the King.
Ineni Describes Thutmose II, Discrediting Previous Discovery
Ineni's biography describes Thutmose II as ascending to the throne as a "falcon in the nest," i.e., as a young boy. This placement of Thutmose II's age means he would have been too young, says Litherland, to be the mummified body at Deir el-Bahari.
Desecration Of The Body At Deir El-Bahari
Unfortunately for future archaeologists, centuries ago, grave robbers had desecrated the body of whoever was mummified at Deir El-Bahari by removing his right arm and right leg with an axe, as well as fracturing his left arm at the shoulder and his right forearm. They also sliced through a large portion of his abdominal wall and lower chest. Why? Nobody is sure.
The Tomb Flooded And Most Things Within It Were Moved
One of the most shocking parts of the dig was discovering that the tomb was almost empty. This heightened speculation that the tomb flooded—despite Ineni's best efforts—and that all of its important things, including Thutmose II's mummy, were moved.
Ineni's "Poorly Chosen Place"
Although Piers Litherland was not a tomb builder during the 18th Dynasty of Egypt, he did have a few choice words to say about Ineni's expertise: "The tomb is situated in a poorly chosen place beneath two waterfalls and at the bottom of a slope down which water would have (and did) pour in the much wetter weather of the 18th dynasty". You should try building a tomb then, Piers.
First Pharaoh's Tomb Found in Egypt in 100 Years, Firstpost
Like Winning The Lottery
Remarking on the possible history-changing ramifications of his discovery, Litherland is quoted: "You dream about such things. But, like winning the lottery, you never believe it will happen to you".
A Curious Burial Location
What's more curious about this discovery is its overall location. The tomb was located in Luxor, about 1.5 miles west of the Valley Of The Kings, where many Egyptian female rulers have been found. This area is known as the Valley Of The Queens, where Hatshepsut (1479-1458 BC) and Tawosret (1292-1290 BC) are buried. To discover the tomb of an Egyptian king here was very unusual indeed.
First Pharaoh's Tomb Found in Egypt in 100 Years, Firstpost
The Final Piece Of The 18th Dynasty Puzzle
Even more significant is that this tomb is the final piece of the puzzle of where the 18th Dynasty rulers are buried. If this does prove to be the tomb of Thutmose II, it's the last in the line of the 18th Dynasty, as all others have been located.
But Where Is Thutmose II?
Where, then, is Thutmose II? If he's too young to be the body in Deir al-Bahari, and his burial chamber was found empty, with speculation that everything inside it had been moved after a flood—where is the young king? Only history knows—so far, anyway.
Is There A Possible Second Tomb?
Litherland's discovery of the first tomb was capped off by a posthumous inscription, as yet undeciphered, that could have been left by whoever disinterred Thutmose II's tomb, possibly providing a location to the second tomb. Archaeologists have continued to search for the second tomb by hand, after digging for the second location became too dangerous. Will they ever find the second tomb? Only time will tell.
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